Soft Melodies, Burning Memories
by FredMischiefmanagedGeorge
Summary: "Singin' our hearts out, standin' on chairs/Spendin' our time like we were millionaires" - Millionaires, The Script. James contemplates where he wants to go in life. It's just a little harder than it looks.


**A.N. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Title: Soft Melodies, Burning Memories**

 **Season: 4**

 **Round: 11**

 **Team: Puddlemere United**

 **Position: Chaser 2**

 **Task: Assigned spell: Flagrate. Also use same word for beginning and ending.**

 **Prompts: Dominoes, (word count) 1089, "Dream a little harder." - Starkid, Twisted**

 **Character: James Sirius Potter**

* * *

Melodies flowed freely from the guitar. Nimble fingers strummed different strings, creating a sweet rhythmic sound. One James Potter sat in the courtyard of Hogwarts on the bottom of an arch window. His back rested against the column, legs crossed along the wall. James closed his eyes for a moment. It was peaceful.

Crashes of lighting disrupted the tranquility.

Dark grey clouds rumbled loudly above. Students' cats scampered indoors, well aware of the oncoming storm. In fear of being rained upon, students were left to find entertainment inside the halls of Hogwarts. This did little to increase the already dampened mood of James Sirius Potter.

Heaving himself up, James strummed the guitar as he entered into the halls of Hogwarts

James Potter was not happy. His auburn hair was a mess and his hazel eyes were bored. All of James' friends were being interviewed. The professors slowly called in the fifth years for career guidance.

Career guidance. James Potter let out a huff. It was an odd thing to think of. What he, James Potter, would do after Hogwarts. James didn't know where he wanted to go, nor what he wanted to do. James was fifteen for merlin's sake!

Nevermind that blasted question.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

It would twist itself into the depths of James' mind. Hidden, bubbling at the very back. Only appearing when James was least prepared.

James had no idea how to answer it. James would only shrug in reply before scampering off to find his cousin Fred. The adult who proposed this question would mutter with an amused smile about 'kids being kids…'

That was how James felt. James was still a kid. Handling the pressures of growing up was something not in the job description. The thought of a career sent James falling into an ocean full of thoughts and emotions he just couldn't place. James felt both numb and explosive inside. He was an adult and a child. It made him feel confident and insecure. It made James want to be a little kid again when things were all just a little less complicated.

The carefree days of James' childhood were missed. The summers spent at the burrow without a worry about school. James spending time by the frog pond with his cousins. Fred Weasley and himself having a laugh on the makeshift quidditch pitch. Hands full of mud, cheeks rosy. Hunting for gnomes to throw away. Struggling to learn guitar. Running down the stairs to check whether or not Father Christmas really did leave him gifts this year.

More than anything else, James longed for the days when he could run into his mother's arms. Those days when James' mother would hold him tight. Her arms would protect him from all the demons in the world. James could depend on his parents for anything. James couldn't do that though. The boy was older now. He couldn't depend on his mother like that.

James had to shoulder on all his problems.

His problems. The problems which seemed like they had just appeared on him now, waiting their chance to crash on him like dominoes. One after the other. Coming quickly. Too quickly.

It left James panicky. There was so much to do in so little time. He had to do something about it. James felt claustrophobic. He had to get out. There was nowhere to run though. James' interview was in a few minutes and lightning was already cracking across the skies outside.

The downpour came within seconds.

James could only run circles in his head, the clocks ticking loudly. James ran a hand through his hair, blinking rapidly. If only Neverland was real. James would be able to fly far, far away and never look back.

James was only left to think about what he wanted to be, no, what he would _become_. There were so many things. An auror was off the list straight away. James' father, Harry Potter, was the "Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement". No way would James work under his dad. It was humiliating. Embarrassing. Plus the accusing whispers of why James got the job would never cease. Harry would keep his son on a tight lead, and that wasn't James' style. James liked freedom. He liked making a name for himself. No matter how much James loved quidditch, James also felt like that would be too much of following his mother's footsteps. James wanted to make his own way. He wanted to be _the_ James Sirius Potter. The name of the century.

James wanted to be appreciated for being James.

Another hand lifted to brush his hair back caused the guitar to let out another stream of notes.

' _No_ ,' James thought, eyes lighting up. 'I want to be a musician.'

James loved music after all. He loved singing. James loved attention. James wanted people to listen to him in a different way than Harry Potter. The fifteen year old stared down at his guitar. It was a new one. One that James had recently bought on one of the Hogsmeade weekends. It held little meaning at the moment, but James hoped it would hold everything. The guitar would mean something now.

" _Flagrate_."

James traced his name into the guitar.

* * *

" _...Dream a little harder,_

 _Love a little harder,_

 _And be a millionaire for a minute._

 _Hold 'em all a little tighter,_

 _Love 'em all a little harder,_

 _Burn the galleons all away._

 _Time is the only thing._

 _Yeah it's the only thing._

 _Cause money'll die_

 _But Love never does._ "

The music finished, and the crowd's silence with it. James laughed at the roars of the fans. He took a long sweeping bow, causing a new round of cheers to rip through the air. James, aged four years, had become the best wrock musician of the century. Everyone loved him. James had certainly made a name for himself. It would be burned into the history books for years to come. He waited for the screams to quiet before speaking,

"The next song, the closing one I am going to sing means a lot to me. It came to me in my fifth year. It's about growing up. And I just want to say that I am glad you all came out tonight. I love you guys."

The screams resumed. James continued his last song. One that was slow. No one chanted to this song. Instead the audience held onto every word. James voice sang along to the soft melodies.

* * *

 **A.N. Song lyrics were made up just to give a little entry feel into the next bit. Hope you all enjoyed!**

 **Dominoes - signifies his life crashing down around him.**

 **Dream a little harder - a lyric in his song that he uses as a way of explaining what is valuable in life.**

 **1089 word count - it is there I promise! ;)**

 **Flagrate - He burns the name onto his guitar but also it kind of represents that he is making a mark on history with his music. As well he feels like everything is turning to ash but realizes that the flame is in fact his light in the darkness. Not everything is lost.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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